Russian airline starts direct Moscow-Pyongyang flights
It's reportedly the first such air carrier service between the two capitals in 30 years.
Russia's Nordwind Airlines began the flights on Sunday. Many of the first passengers were North Korean citizens.
The airline plans to serve the route once a month. The 8-hour flight costs about 45,000 rubles or 560 dollars.
The link points to growing ties between the two countries. It comes after they signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in June last year.
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Kyodo News
17 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Direct flights between Moscow, Pyongyang start amid deepening ties
MOSCOW - Direct passenger flights connecting Moscow and Pyongyang commenced Sunday in the latest sign of deepening bilateral ties in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that started in 2022. The direct flights, scheduled once a month, are operated by Russian Nordwind Airlines. The first flight took off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for Pyongyang on Sunday and the return flight is scheduled for Tuesday. The regular flights between the countries' capitals are the first since the mid-1990s, Reuters said, citing Russian aviation blogs. According to Russian media, the airline is operating a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with a capacity of 440 passengers on the route. It began selling tickets from Moscow to Pyongyang on July 18, with prices starting at 44,700 rubles ($565). Many of the passengers who checked in were reportedly North Koreans. North Korean state carrier Air Koryo operates direct flights between Vladivostok in the Russian Far East and Pyongyang three times a week. Russia and North Korea have been stepping up cooperation amid the war in Ukraine, with the two countries' leaders signing a comprehensive partnership treaty in June last year and North Korea sending troops in support of Russia's military operations.
NHK
18 hours ago
- NHK
Russian airline starts direct Moscow-Pyongyang flights
A Russian airline has started direct passenger flights between Moscow and Pyongyang in North Korea. It's reportedly the first such air carrier service between the two capitals in 30 years. Russia's Nordwind Airlines began the flights on Sunday. Many of the first passengers were North Korean citizens. The airline plans to serve the route once a month. The 8-hour flight costs about 45,000 rubles or 560 dollars. The link points to growing ties between the two countries. It comes after they signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in June last year.
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Japan Times
Zelenskyy plans to ask Europe to help pay Ukraine's soldiers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to ask European allies to help finance improved salaries for troops resisting Russia's invasion, in a bid to ease growing shortages of recruits. "Previously, Europeans refused to provide funding for the salaries of our military personnel, only for weapons,' Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday. "Our service members themselves can be the weapon that protects everyone.' With a mobilization campaign in Ukraine increasingly unpopular among a population fatigued by the war that's in its fourth year, Zelenskyy's government wants to motivate more volunteers by offering substantial payments for those who sign military contracts. Russia has long offered large signing bonuses and high salaries to lure tens of thousands to its army each month, seeking to avoid any repeat of a spike in public anxiety when President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial draft a few months into the 2022 invasion. Increasing payments to soldiers would add to strains on Ukraine's state budget, which had a deficit exceeding 20% of gross domestic product last year amid massive military spending. The war-torn nation relies on tens of billions of dollars in aid from its foreign allies, who have so far rejected the idea of directly covering military expenses. While the International Monetary Fund, which is providing a loan program worth about $16 billion, is urging Kyiv to shrink the budget gap, the government has no plans to raise taxes, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said in an interview. Global donors have earmarked only half of the estimated $75 billion needed for the budget over the next two years, she said. Ukraine needs $25 billion annually to produce drones, jamming equipment and missiles to defend against Russia, which will bring the budget deficit to $65 billion next year, according to Zelenskyy. It has begun discussions on the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as U.S. officials, he said. "This is a very difficult topic,' Zelenskyy added. Ukrainian companies have started manufacturing interceptor drones, and about $6 billion is required urgently to ramp up production, the president said. "A clear task has been set for the manufacturers: Ukraine must be capable of deploying at least 1,000 interceptors per day within a defined time frame,' Zelenskyy said in a post on social media platform X on Friday after visiting a drone production facility. "Government officials are ensuring contracting is in place, and we are also working constantly with our partners to prevent any funding shortages,' he said. While he told reporters the U.S. has agreed to buy drones designed and produced in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said he's seeking a contract worth between $10 billion and $30 billion. Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and presidential adviser Oleksandr Kamyshin have been tasked with handling the negotiations, he said. The president said that Ukrainian forces had made "solid progress' in stalling Russian advances on the battlefield. The situation in the northeastern Sumy region was now significantly better for Kyiv, though Russia remains focused on gains in the area as well as toward Pokrovsk, while the Dnipropetrovsk region "is very much desired by them,' he said. Zelenskyy said the third round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on Wednesday yielded some progress toward preparing a meeting with Putin. Russian officials have said there's little point to a summit before the sides have negotiated an agreement to end the war.
